


I don’t like the Endgame Ending (AKA an Endgame Stucky Fix-It fanfiction)

by Sterek_Always



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Canon Divergence - Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Fix-It, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-04
Updated: 2019-05-04
Packaged: 2020-02-23 18:36:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18707668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sterek_Always/pseuds/Sterek_Always
Summary: In retaliation of the last 5 minutes of Avengers: Endgame where Steve Rogers was written so badly it still physically hurts me to think about, I present a fix-it fanfic in hopes of providing some comfort and relief in these hard times.Pretty much a canon divergence when Steve goes back to put the stones back, he has his dance with Peggy and decides to move on with his life. (Still a little unconventional but a lot less plot conflicting and a little more on the lines of something Steve would actually do).





	I don’t like the Endgame Ending (AKA an Endgame Stucky Fix-It fanfiction)

**Author's Note:**

> Obviously as this is an Endgame fanfic there are Endgame spoilers in the fic.

Steve goes back in time to have his last dance with Peggy. They both talk about and agree that though they would have worked well together in the past, Steve has changed. He’s moved on. The same way that Peggy will too. They love each other but the time has passed for them.

Steve still stays in the past though.

He goes and finds Bucky. Saves him from Hydra before things get too messy. Because Steve could never stand by and watch his best friend be torn to pieces when Steve could easily do something about it. So he saves him. 

Steve tells him about the future, all the Winter Soldier stuff and all the Avengers shenanigans. How Bucky turned to ash beneath his fingertips and how Steve fought tooth and nail to get him back. How Bucky was currently waiting in the future for Steve to return.

Steve decides to stay. He decides to stay with this Bucky, who he feels at home with, at peace. No need to fight or take up a shield. Not for another 70 years at least. 

For now he can rest. They can rest.

They buy small house. On the outskirts of civilisation to escape any possible recognition and to escape the trauma. Steve settles in peace with knowing that now Bucky was safe and wouldn’t live through the horrors of his other self. Nothing bad was happening this time.

They buy a few goats. Bucky is overly excited. They settle down with their goats and start to enjoy the simpler things in life, such as travelling to the small market at the nearest town and arguing profusely over the answers to crossword puzzles. 

They begin to grow old. They begin moving closer to a small town, confident in the fact that the lines worn into their skin will deter any suspicions of Captain America affiliations. Though Bucky remarks that anyone looking too closely at Steve’s baby blue eyes would recognise him straight away, ‘the piercing blues of righteousness’ as they are known. 

Time shifts. In a flicker of what feels like an hour, days have passed. Weeks stretch to years and soon Steve and Bucky are tuning into the news to hear about Captain America being recovered from the ice. Within a few years the Avengers are formed, fighting evil as they should be. Captain America takes down Hydra the year after and everything seems to run smoothly from there. Steve becomes more confident that this Captain America can handle things in this universe. He doesn’t have Bucky but he still has a new family who Captain America will cherish and hopefully keep closer to his heart in the event of the Sokovia Accords.

Bucky is growing frail. Steve too, but generally at a slower rate. Bucky begins to move slower, think slower and return Steve’s witty comments with remarks becoming less inventive. It stings. 

He knew this day would come. That had been the plan after all. To live out a long and peaceful like with his best friend where they didn’t have the trauma or the constant fighting. But seeing Bucky’s eyes close for the final time breaks Steve in a way he could never have predicted. Steve sits silently in Bucky’s room, watching Bucky who could simply be sleeping very peacefully. It is peaceful, but he is not sleeping. 

Steve’s heart aches like it’s being pulled in several directions at once, torn between sorrow, anger, despair but also a sense of happiness and gratefulness that he got to spend his life with his best guy. 

With that Steve salutes Bucky. Promising him that he will never forget this life they had and that he will cherish every single second of pure happiness they got. 

Using the last remaining Pym Particles Steve returns to his timeline, arriving a short distance from the scene where this all begins, black bag tucked tightly under his arm. He takes his seat at the bench, gazing out at the pristine blue lake and surrounding greenery. Soon Sam is standing next to him, taking a seat next to him. Steve has almost forgotten what Sam looked like, how he held himself. Similar to how Steve had, which is why Steve was so certain in his decision to hand the shield to Sam. Also knowing that this Bucky would take care of Sam and teach him about Captain America. 

Sam asks about the ring on his finger. Steve smiles fondly, moments of Steve’s life flashing by as a montage of his happiest memories, mostly filled with Bucky smiling at him, in the dorky way that always electrified his insides. Steve wouldn’t tell Sam about them, this Bucky didn’t need the pressure of knowing what Steve’s other life had been like. 

In fact, Steve couldn’t look at this Bucky. He could feel his presence behind him like a dead weight in his stomach. Guilt building up beneath his skin, itching to rise to surface and force out the screams that Steve was trying to contain. Endless apologies for leaving him, for abandoning this Bucky to live a life out of time all alone, the way that Steve had been so frightened to do himself. He didn’t want Bucky to feel alienated or out of place, he wanted this Bucky to be happy and healthy and kind just like Steve remembered. 

Sam had walked away. Steve wasn’t sure if it was relief or nerves that washed over him like a cold jet of water. Anticipating the movement of Bucky, who cautiously approached the bench. Eyes more sullen than Steve remembered. 

“Were you happy?” Bucky asks, his voice low like gravel.

“Yes.”

“Did she make you happy.”

“We had our dance.” Steve wasn’t exactly lying.

“I knew you two were right for each other, better than we ever were anyway.”

And Steve would have believed if his throat hadn’t of tightened towards the end, eliciting a wavering notch that Steve new all to well. Bucky was trying to be happy for Steve, who he thinks had abandoned him for some girl (no offence Peggy, your amazing). 

“I’ll see ya around Steve, drop by once in a while or call me if you any problems.” Bucky days through a smile as fragile as glass. His hands digging deeper into the pockets of his jacket as he turns and leaves. 

Steve nods as the sound of footsteps disappear.

Steve knows he’s been selfish. Probably too selfish. So selfish that this Bucky will carry this new heartache for no reason other than that Steve is selfish. But that’s the stinging truth to it; Steve holds himself up to certain expectations and guidelines that all come crashing down as soon as Bucky is involved. As soon as Bucky is there Steve can’t think straight. 

Steve truly believes this Bucky will be fine. He’s got Sam who will slowly grow on Bucky. They’ll be a good team. One that will work well without Steve. Steve trusts that the world is in good hands. The final piece of the puzzle slotting into place as his eyes drift back over the glistening lake that catch the last rays of sun like fire dancing in the dying light of his Final Day.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. Please leave Kudos and/or comment if you want. 
> 
> And if some explanation is needed: 
> 
> 1) The whole thing with Steve using remaining Pym Particles is backed up by the Russo Brothers who stated that that was how Steve returned to the original timeline to be in there as Old Steve. Mainly this is their bad writing to fix a plot hole which was already bad writing. So I’ve used it sorta ironically in the way that “it’s canon so this idea isn’t that far fetched and totally checks out and makes sense”.
> 
> 2) Though I do think that Steve’s storyline did focus around moving forward and moving onc which would entice him staying in the present timeline to move on with his life, I do sorta understand why Steve would of wanted to go back. Which is what this fic predominantly centralises on. The idea that Steve realises that he has changed but also cannot not help Bucky. As much as it would make sense for him to go back to the future and live his life with the Avengers and that Bucky, given the opportunity I don’t think Steve would have been able to walk away from saving past Bucky. And knowing that future Steve would have a family with the Avengers, he felt like he could stay in the past and be at peace whilst knowing Bucky was safe.


End file.
